2025 in paleobotany

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This paleobotany list records new fossil plant taxa that were to be described during the year 2025, as well as notes other significant paleobotany discoveries and events which occurred during 2025.

Algae

Chlorophytes

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Morelletpora sinica^[1]	Sp. nov	Valid	Schlagintweit, Xu & Zhang	Late Cretaceous (Campanian)	Yigeziya Formation	China		A member of Dasycladales belonging to the family Triploporellaceae.

Lycophytes

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Zosterophyllum baoyangense^[2]	Sp. nov		Huang & Xue in Huang et al.	Devonian (Pragian)	Mangshan Group	China

Ferns and fern allies

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Krameropteris calophyllum^[3]	Sp. nov		Li in Li & Meng	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Kachin amber	Myanmar		A member of the family Dennstaedtiaceae.

Conifers

Pinaceae

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Pinus longlingensis^[4]	Sp. nov		Song & Wu in Song et al.	Pliocene	Mangbang Formation	China		A pine.
Pinuxylon anatolica^[5]	Sp. nov		Akkemik & Mantzouka	Miocene	Hançili Formation	Turkey		A member of the family Pinaceae.

Flowering plants

Basal eudicots

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Palaeosinomenium indicum^[6]	Sp. nov		Kumar, Manchester & Khan	Cretaceous-Paleocene (Maastrichtian-Danian)	Deccan Intertrappean Beds	India		A member of the family Menispermaceae. Announced in late 2024, published fully in 2025.

Superasterids

Icacinales

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Miquelia yenbaiensis^[7]	Sp. nov		Hung, Huang & Li in Hung et al.	Miocene	Co Phuc Formation	Vietnam		A species of Miquelia.

Superrosids

Fabales

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Synonymized taxa	Notes	Images
Peltophorum xingjianii^[8]	Sp. nov		Zhao, Wang & Huang in Zhao et al.	Miocene	Sanhaogou Formation	China		A species of Peltophorum.
Pueraria qinghaiensis^[9]	Sp. nov		Cao & Xie in Cao et al.	Miocene	Youshashan Formation	China		A species of Pueraria.

Other plants

Name	Novelty	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes
Neuromariopteris^[10]	Gen. et sp. nov	Šimůnek & Haldovský	Carboniferous (Bashkirian)	Kladno-Rakovník Basin	Czech Republic	A member of Callistophytales. The type species is N. scandens.
Palaeopteridium andrenelii^[11]	Sp. nov	Correia & Góis-Marques	Carboniferous (Moscovian)		Portugal	A progymnosperm belonging to the group Noeggerathiales.
Shanxioxylon yangquanense^[12]	Sp. nov	Wang & Wan in Wang et al.	Carboniferous (Kasimovian)	Benxi Formation	China	A cordaitalean.

Other plant research

Partial leaf representing the first record of a fossil Cycas from Australia is described from the Miocene Stuarts Creek site by Greenwood, Conran & West (2025).^[13]

Palynology

Palynological research

Evidence from the study of palynofloral assemblages from the Germig Section (Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; Tibet, China), interpreted as indicative of a shift from floras dominated by seed ferns and conifers to floras dominated by cheirolepids during the Triassic-Jurassic transition, is presented by Li et al. (2025).^[14]
A study on palynofloral assemblages from the Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark (Spain), providing evidence of gradual shift from conifer-dominated floras to ones with increased presence of flowering plants through the Albian–Cenomanian, is published by Rodríguez-Barreiro et al. (2025).^[15]

General research

Evidence of the presence of a plant community dominated by ferns belonging to the family Osmundaceae, similar to extant plant communities such as those from swamp settings from the Parana Forest in northeastern Argentina, is reported from the Jurassic La Matilde Formation (Argentina) by García Massini et al. (2025).^[16]
Evidence from the study of phytoliths from the Lunpola Basin of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, interpreted as indicative of presence mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest during the late Oligocene–Early Miocene, is presented by Zhang et al. (2025).^[17]
A study on ancient DNA from sediment cores from lakes in Alaska and Siberia, providing evidence of plant extinctions associated with environmental changes during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, is published by Courtin et al. (2025).^[18]

References

^ Schlagintweit, F.; Xu, Y.; Zhang, S. (2025). "Calcareous green algae (Dasycladales, Halimedaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous of the western Tarim Basin, NW China: Systematic palaeontology, microfacies, and palaeobiogeographic significance". Carnets Geol. 25 (4): 89–108. doi:10.2110/carnets.2025.2504.
^ Huang, P.; Wang, J.-S.; Wang, Y.-L.; Liu, L.; Zhao, J.-Y.; Xue, J.-Z. (2025). "The smallest Zosterophyllum plant from the Lower Devonian of South China and the divergent life-history strategies in zosterophyllopsids". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292 (2038). 20242337. doi:10.1098/rspb.2024.2337. PMC 11732410. PMID 39809313.
^ Li, C.X.; Meng, F.W. (2025). "A New Species of Krameropteris (Dennstaedtiaceae) from Mid-Cretaceous Myanmar Amber". Taxonomy. 5 (1). 3. doi:10.3390/taxonomy5010003.
^ Song, Z.-H.; Wang, Z.-E.; Cao, R.; Wang, Z.-S.; Wang, H.; Chen, G.-H.; Wu, J.-Y. (2025). "Fossil wood of Pinus from the Pliocene of western Yunnan, China and its palaeoclimatic implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 334. 105279. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105279.
^ Akkemik, Ü.; Mantzouka, D. (2025). "A review of the Early Miocene Pinuxylon species of Türkiye with a new species". Turkish Journal of Botany. 49 (1): 52–63. doi:10.55730/1300-008X.2841.
^ Kumar, S.; Manchester, S. R.; Khan, M. A. (2024). "Oldest menispermaceous endocarp fossil from the Deccan Intertrappean Beds of Central India and its biogeographic implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 334. 105249. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105249.
^ Hung, N. B.; Huang, J.; Del Rio, C.; Hoa, N. T. M.; Truong, D. V.; Pha, P. D.; Su, T.; Li, S.-F. (2025). "First endocarp record of Miquelia (Icacinaceae) from the late Miocene of northern Vietnam and its phytogeographical and paleoecological implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105285. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105285.
^ Zhao, Y.-S.; Wang, T.-X.; Xiao, S.-M.; Li, S.-F.; Huang, J. (2025). "Fossil pods of tropical tree Peltophorum (Caesalpinioideae, Fabaceae) from southwestern China". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105282. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105282.
^ Cao, Z.-D.; Xie, S.-P.; Liu, L.-M.; Li, X.-M.; Zhang, S.-H.; Zhang, Y.-H.; Yan, D.-F. (2025). "A moderate elevation and warm-humid climate of the Wulan Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau in the Middle Miocene indicated by Pueraria macrofossils". Journal of Palaeogeography. doi:10.1016/j.jop.2024.08.012.
^ Šimůnek, Z.; Haldovský, J. (2025). "New callistophytalean species from the Duckmantian of the Kladno-Rakovník Basin, Czech Republic". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105283. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105283.
^ Correia, P.; Góis-Marques, C. A. (2025). "Palaeopteridium andrenelii sp. nov., a new noeggerathialean species from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Portugal with new insights on the Noeggerathiales". Geological Magazine. 162. e1. doi:10.1017/S0016756824000438.
^ Wang, K.; Jia, G.; Dong, L.; Wang, J.; Wang, S.; Wang, J.; Wan, M. (2025). "Shanxioxylon yangquanense sp. nov., a new Kasimovian cordaitalean axis from the Benxi Formation (Pennsylvanian, Carboniferous) of Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, North China". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105287. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105287.
^ Greenwood, D. R.; Conran, J. G.; West, C. K. (2025). "A Cycas L. (Cycadaceae) Leaf from the Miocene of Northern South Australia". International Journal of Plant Sciences: 1–14. doi:10.1086/733819.
^ Li, J.-H.; Peng, J.-G.; Slater, S. M.; Vajda, V. (2025). "Palynofloras across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Southwest China". Palaeoworld. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2025.200910.
^ Rodríguez-Barreiro, I.; Santos, A. A.; Villanueva-Amadoz, U.; Hernández, J. M.; McLoughlin, S.; Diez, J. B. (2025). "Angiosperm radiation, diversification, and vegetation shifts through the Albian–Cenomanian of the northern Iberian Peninsula: Palynological evidence from the Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark". Cretaceous Research. 106086. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106086.
^ García Massini, J. L.; Nunes, G. C.; Yañez, A.; Escapa, I. H.; Guido, D. (2025). "Jurassic Osmundaceous Landscapes in Patagonia: Exploring the Concept of Ecological Stasis in the Deseado Massif, Argentina". Plants. 14 (2). 165. doi:10.3390/plants14020165.
^ Zhang, X.-W.; Liu, J.; Spicer, R. A.; Gao, Y.; Yao, X.-R.; Qin, X.-Y.; Zhou, Z.-K.; Su, T. (2025). "Vegetation history of the central Tibetan region during the late Oligocene–Early Miocene". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. doi:10.1111/jse.13152.
^ Courtin, J.; Stoof-Leichsenring, K. R.; Lisovski, S.; Liu, Y.; Alsos, I. G.; Biskaborn, B. K.; Diekmann, B.; Melles, M.; Wagner, B.; Pestryakova, L.; Russell, J.; Huang, Y.; Herzschuh, U. (2025). "Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe". Nature Communications. 16 (1). 645. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-55542-x. PMC 11733255. PMID 39809751.

[1] Schlagintweit, F.; Xu, Y.; Zhang, S. (2025). "Calcareous green algae (Dasycladales, Halimedaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous of the western Tarim Basin, NW China: Systematic palaeontology, microfacies, and palaeobiogeographic significance". Carnets Geol. 25 (4): 89–108. doi:10.2110/carnets.2025.2504.

[2] Huang, P.; Wang, J.-S.; Wang, Y.-L.; Liu, L.; Zhao, J.-Y.; Xue, J.-Z. (2025). "The smallest Zosterophyllum plant from the Lower Devonian of South China and the divergent life-history strategies in zosterophyllopsids". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292 (2038). 20242337. doi:10.1098/rspb.2024.2337. PMC 11732410. PMID 39809313.

[3] Li, C.X.; Meng, F.W. (2025). "A New Species of Krameropteris (Dennstaedtiaceae) from Mid-Cretaceous Myanmar Amber". Taxonomy. 5 (1). 3. doi:10.3390/taxonomy5010003.

[4] Song, Z.-H.; Wang, Z.-E.; Cao, R.; Wang, Z.-S.; Wang, H.; Chen, G.-H.; Wu, J.-Y. (2025). "Fossil wood of Pinus from the Pliocene of western Yunnan, China and its palaeoclimatic implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 334. 105279. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105279.

[5] Akkemik, Ü.; Mantzouka, D. (2025). "A review of the Early Miocene Pinuxylon species of Türkiye with a new species". Turkish Journal of Botany. 49 (1): 52–63. doi:10.55730/1300-008X.2841.

[6] Kumar, S.; Manchester, S. R.; Khan, M. A. (2024). "Oldest menispermaceous endocarp fossil from the Deccan Intertrappean Beds of Central India and its biogeographic implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 334. 105249. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105249.

[7] Hung, N. B.; Huang, J.; Del Rio, C.; Hoa, N. T. M.; Truong, D. V.; Pha, P. D.; Su, T.; Li, S.-F. (2025). "First endocarp record of Miquelia (Icacinaceae) from the late Miocene of northern Vietnam and its phytogeographical and paleoecological implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105285. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105285.

[8] Zhao, Y.-S.; Wang, T.-X.; Xiao, S.-M.; Li, S.-F.; Huang, J. (2025). "Fossil pods of tropical tree Peltophorum (Caesalpinioideae, Fabaceae) from southwestern China". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105282. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105282.

[9] Cao, Z.-D.; Xie, S.-P.; Liu, L.-M.; Li, X.-M.; Zhang, S.-H.; Zhang, Y.-H.; Yan, D.-F. (2025). "A moderate elevation and warm-humid climate of the Wulan Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau in the Middle Miocene indicated by Pueraria macrofossils". Journal of Palaeogeography. doi:10.1016/j.jop.2024.08.012.

[10] Šimůnek, Z.; Haldovský, J. (2025). "New callistophytalean species from the Duckmantian of the Kladno-Rakovník Basin, Czech Republic". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105283. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105283.

[11] Correia, P.; Góis-Marques, C. A. (2025). "Palaeopteridium andrenelii sp. nov., a new noeggerathialean species from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Portugal with new insights on the Noeggerathiales". Geological Magazine. 162. e1. doi:10.1017/S0016756824000438.

[12] Wang, K.; Jia, G.; Dong, L.; Wang, J.; Wang, S.; Wang, J.; Wan, M. (2025). "Shanxioxylon yangquanense sp. nov., a new Kasimovian cordaitalean axis from the Benxi Formation (Pennsylvanian, Carboniferous) of Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, North China". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 105287. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2025.105287.

[13] Greenwood, D. R.; Conran, J. G.; West, C. K. (2025). "A Cycas L. (Cycadaceae) Leaf from the Miocene of Northern South Australia". International Journal of Plant Sciences: 1–14. doi:10.1086/733819.

[14] Li, J.-H.; Peng, J.-G.; Slater, S. M.; Vajda, V. (2025). "Palynofloras across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Southwest China". Palaeoworld. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2025.200910.

[15] Rodríguez-Barreiro, I.; Santos, A. A.; Villanueva-Amadoz, U.; Hernández, J. M.; McLoughlin, S.; Diez, J. B. (2025). "Angiosperm radiation, diversification, and vegetation shifts through the Albian–Cenomanian of the northern Iberian Peninsula: Palynological evidence from the Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark". Cretaceous Research. 106086. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106086.

[16] García Massini, J. L.; Nunes, G. C.; Yañez, A.; Escapa, I. H.; Guido, D. (2025). "Jurassic Osmundaceous Landscapes in Patagonia: Exploring the Concept of Ecological Stasis in the Deseado Massif, Argentina". Plants. 14 (2). 165. doi:10.3390/plants14020165.

[17] Zhang, X.-W.; Liu, J.; Spicer, R. A.; Gao, Y.; Yao, X.-R.; Qin, X.-Y.; Zhou, Z.-K.; Su, T. (2025). "Vegetation history of the central Tibetan region during the late Oligocene–Early Miocene". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. doi:10.1111/jse.13152.

[18] Courtin, J.; Stoof-Leichsenring, K. R.; Lisovski, S.; Liu, Y.; Alsos, I. G.; Biskaborn, B. K.; Diekmann, B.; Melles, M.; Wagner, B.; Pestryakova, L.; Russell, J.; Huang, Y.; Herzschuh, U. (2025). "Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe". Nature Communications. 16 (1). 645. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-55542-x. PMC 11733255. PMID 39809751.

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